


In the Wake of Victory

by Aki (Akiko_Natsuko)



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Friendship, Friendship/Love, M/M, Piggybacks, Sleepiness
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-19
Updated: 2018-10-19
Packaged: 2019-08-04 02:57:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,042
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16338509
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Akiko_Natsuko/pseuds/Aki
Summary: Following their unexpected victory, Asahi carries a sleepy Nishinoya home, both still caught in a state of disbelief that they’d come this far and how close they had nearly come to losing it.





	In the Wake of Victory

    Asahi adjusted his grip on Nishinoya as he felt the smaller teen finally beginning to stir against his back, not wanting him to fall, not least because Daichi would kill him if he let anything happen to him, and not because the thought of the libero getting hurt made his stomach tighten unpleasantly. Before his thoughts and the anxiety that they would produce could spiral out of control, Nishinoya stirred again, nuzzling into the space between his shoulder blades with a sleepy mumble, fingers clutching at his shoulders as he detected the motion beneath him.

“Where are we?” Nishinoya asked, confusion and sleep warring for control in his voice as he lifted his head to peer over Asahi’s shoulder, no doubt disorientated to find them outside

“Nearly home,” Asahi replied. “You fell asleep and you didn’t want to wake up,” he explained with a faint laugh as he heard the soft confused noise that greeted his words. He had been unsurprised that Nishinoya had joined Tanaka and the others in sleeping at the end of the table, although he had held out longer than Kageyama, although that had been more to do with the fact that he wanted to eat as much of the free food as he could, than any real strength.

    He’d also been unsurprised that Nishinoya hadn’t stirred when they all began to rise, ready to head home to rest and share the news and celebrations with their families. Takeda and Ukai had been busy bouncing ideas of one another in the corner, the former having finally managed to recover from the shock of their win and stem his tears, the words flying so fast that the boys had settled for quick farewells, almost frightened to intrude. However, that had also meant they’d had to deal with the issue of their sleeping teammates, although not before several of them had snapped pictures of Nishinoya using Tanaka as a human pillow, Kageyama practically lying on top of Hinata with his mouth wide open and snoring loudly.

    Suga and Daichi had taken charge of the two sleeping first years, whilst Ennoshita had carefully hauled Tanaka to his feet, ignoring his protests and pleading to just be left behind. But Nishinoya hadn’t stirred in the slightest, even when he had lost his human pillow, instead he had simply muttered something under his breath, frowning as he settled down in a new position. When Suga had moved to try and rouse him, Asahi had intervened, knowing from previous experience that it would take more than that to rouse Nishinoya once he was firmly asleep.

“You carried me all this way?” Nishinoya asked, sounding a little more alert as he recognised the small corner shop that they were walking past.

“Would you rather I had left you in the restaurant?” Asahi asked teasingly, a tone that he only tended to use with Nishinoya, wincing as the smaller teen poked him in the shoulder. “Besides you’re not heavy, and it wasn’t as though you were walking home.” Even if they’d managed to rouse him, a sleepy Nishinoya was a dangerous thing. Asahi was fairly sure that his parents still hadn’t recovered from the night he had stayed with them, and absentmindedly walked into their room and tried to climb into bed after getting up to use the bathroom in the middle of the night. It had been easier, and safer for everyone for Asahi to give him a piggyback.

    He half expected Nishinoya to try and slide off now that he was awake, but after another sharp poke, he settled once more, resting his head on Asahi’s shoulder. They continued like that for a few minutes, the silence between them comfortable and content.

“Asahi?” Unsurprisingly it was Nishinoya who broke the silence first, although he sounded unusually solemn and Asahi paused, tilting his head to catch a glimpse of his face, not sure what to make of the strangely pleading expression on the other teen’s face.

“Yes?”

“We won, didn’t we?” Nishinoya asked softly, almost as though he was worried that his words would break some kind of spell, a hint of desperation entering his voice as his fingers tightened on Asahi’s shoulder. “It wasn’t a dream?”

    Ah. Asahi could understand the need for reassurance, as he had spent most of the meal and walk home in a suspended cloud of disbelief. It didn’t feel real yet, maybe it wouldn’t until they stood on the court in Tokyo. No one had expected them to win today, not the audience, not Shiratorizawa and not themselves. Sure, they had dreamed and hoped, spurred on by the Hinata’s words and the people that had come to cheer for them, but they had never let themselves think they could do it.

And yet…

“No, it wasn’t a dream,” he murmured, voice just as soft as Nishinoya’s had been, wanting to believe the words but feeling as though he was waiting for someone to pop up and tell him it had been a mistake. It wasn’t. Takeda had the cup to prove it, they had the medals stashed in their bags as proof. Nishinoya didn’t whoop or cheer like he had been half expecting him too, nor did he repeat the pile up from earlier on the court, instead his tight grip on Asahi’s shoulders became a semi-hug as he buried his face once more.

“I’m glad you came back.” The words were muffled, but Asahi heard them clearly and he smiled, sad and relieved at the same time as he caught the hurt in Nishinoya’s voice. They had moved past what had happened, but it hadn’t been easy, and he knew that the libero feared that it could happen again…hell, Asahi had moments, especially when Hinata shone too brightly when he wondered if it would happen again, but no. His grip tightened on Nishinoya, no…no it wouldn’t happen again, he wouldn’t let. Even if they had lost today he had planned to be there until the end, to make the most of his time on the court…to make the most of his time with Nishinoya, and there was the faintest of quivers to his voice as he murmured.

“Me too.”    

_More than you can ever know…_


End file.
